The Colby Environmental Assessment Team (CEAT) investigated the water quality and factors affecting water quality in the surrounding watershed of Togus Pond in Augusta, Maine from June through September 2004. CEAT analyzed several physical, chemical and biological water quality parameters, land use patterns in the watershed, and the impact of residential and commercial development on water quality. Data collected were used to produce models of the watershed that enabled CEAT to identify possible sources of degradation to the current and future water quality of Togus Pond. To obtain a historical perspective, all data collected this summer were compared to data collected in previous years by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Lake water quality is most affected by the accumulation of external nutrients, particularly phosphorus, resulting from surface runoff and land erosion. Internal nutrient loading is an important factor to consider since a large amount of the phosphorus in the lake comes from internal sediment loading. When concentrations of phosphorus approach threshold levels (15 ppb), a lake may experience algal blooms that decrease the aesthetic, recreational, ecological, and economic value of the lake and land areas surrounding the lake.
Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College and Problems in Environmental Science course (Biology 493), Colby College, "A Watershed Analysis of Togus Pond: Implications for Water Quality and Land Use Management" (2004). Colby College Watershed Study: Togus Pond (2004). Paper 1.